CRAWFORD, Texas (AP)-- Until last month, President Bush hadn't been to a NASCAR race since he was governor of Texas and running for president. Today, he goes to a rodeo and livestock exhibition in Houston -- again, for the first time since he was governor.

Such appearances at sporting events this election year help Bush shore up his standing with his core supporters: white men.

They also show him as a plain-talking boots-wearer with Middle America tastes -- an image Bush has cultivated for years to counter his background as an Ivy Leaguer from an old, wealthy, New England-based family. That comes in handy particularly this year, as the president will almost certainly face Democratic Sen. John Kerry, a wealthy Northeasterner the Bush campaign aims to paint as out of sync with much of the country.

Allan Lichtman, a political scientist at American University in Washington, said the events call attention to Bush as "both the macho guy and the regular guy."

"Despite all the charges that his administration is a giveaway to the rich, this shows President Bush as in touch with the concerns and the lives of ordinary Americans in all the ways the patrician, distant, former hippie war protester John Kerry isn't," Lichtman said.

An Associated Press poll taken last week showed Bush leading Kerry by almost 20 percent among white men.

But that doesn't mean the president has no work to do among that demographic. Increasing loyalty among core supporters early in the election season is a classic campaign strategy.

Furthermore, the entire election could turn on a small number of votes in states such as West Virginia and Missouri where white men are a key bloc and the election was very close in 2000, Lichtman said.

"He certainly isn't hurting with his base, but he doesn't want to have to worry about his base either," Lichtman said.

The Kerry campaign has eagerly publicized the senator's penchant for hunting, hockey, windsurfing and other sports. But Kerry spokesman Chad Clanton questioned whether the events are the best use of the president's time when important economic and national security matters face the country.

"Maybe the president is hanging out at spectator sports to try and make people forget the past 31/2 years, but it won't work," he said Sunday. "People aren't going to be fooled by this."

Activities such as throwing out the first pitch at the World Series and hosting major sports champions at the White House are longtime presidential traditions that well predate Bush.

And Bush's credentials as a genuine sports fan, who would rather turn on a game than just about anything else and avidly reads sports pages, aren't in doubt. Early in his presidency, the former owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team even instituted a Sunday T-ball league on the South Lawn.